Chennithala not to quit as KPCC chief: Cong

New Delhi, May 15 (UNI) The Congress today ruled out the resignation of Mr Ramesh Chennithala as KPCC President owning moral responsibility for the party's defeat in the assembly elections in Kerala.

Replying to reporters' queries on whether Mr Chennithala would take a cue from the decision of Mr Pranab Mukherjee to quit as President of the party's West Bengal unit, AICC spokesman Rajiv Shukla said there was no need for it.

Though the Congress-led UDF lost power in Kerala following the elections, the party and its allies, unlike in West Bengal, had polled 43 per cent of the votes, Mr Shukla said.

Asked whether Mr Mukherjee's resignation had been accepted, he said it was lying before Party President Sonia Gandhi who would take a final decision on it.

The spokesman also pointed out that Ms Gandhi had, at a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) held earlier in the day, expressed disappointment over the party's performance in West Bengal.

''The West Bengal results have been very disappointing. We now have a huge task ahead of us,'' Ms Gandhi had said.

At the same time, she said the contributions and achievements of the Congress-led UDF government in Kerala had been acknowledged and appreciated.

''However, it is obvious that the work done has fallen short of people's expectations there. We were unable to break with the pattern of electoral verdicts in that state, though our share of the popular vote is still very solid and significant,'' Ms Gandhi had stated.

UNI SN VD HT1748